1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electric motors, particularly those motors used in moist or wet environments, such as a cooling tower. More specifically, the present invention concerns a sealant containment gasket that is filled with liquid sealant through a filling hole disposed at the top of the gasket.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that electric motors, particularly those motors for use in industrial applications with moist or wet environments, such as cooling towers, are large, heavy, and require careful assembly. It is known that there is typically an opening in the motor shell through which passes power lead wiring from inside the motor chamber to connect to wiring from an outside power source. Conventionally, a gasket has covered this opening when it needs to keep water or moisture out and the gasket has typically been open, like a bowl, and configured to hold an amount of liquid sealant that solidifies to provide a moisture barrier between the wiring and the wiring passageway in the gasket. While this construction has been satisfactory in some respects, the solidifying of the liquid sealant in the bowl-forming gasket requires a considerable amount of time during the motor assembly process. In particular, the opening on the horizontal side of the motor must be covered with a gasket, wires must be run through the gasket from inside the motor chamber, and then the entire motor must be pivoted ninety degrees onto its side to have the gasket face upward so that the bowl formed therein can be filled with sealant.
The motor assembly process is then put on hold while the liquid sealant adequately dries and solidifies before the motor can be pivoted the ninety degrees back to its proper right-side-up assembly position so that further assembly of the components can be completed. It is known that it is in the nature of such maneuvering of dangerous and heavy equipment that safety and performance issues arise, including the introduction of additional pinch points during motor movement, the necessity of specialized equipment to move large motors, and the time lost while waiting for sealant to set before further assembly is undertaken. Such specialized equipment is often both expensive and heavy, and can require additional time to design for the particular use needed. In one application of using conventional bowl gaskets on large cooling tower motors, some of which can weigh upwards of six hundred pounds, specialized steel tables were designed, purchased, and installed with forklifts to facilitate the pivoting of the electric motors.